Fish-cleaning machine.



N. B. ANDERSON.

FISH CLEANING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED Nov.2, 1914.

1,137,448. Patented Apr. 27, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET l.

-WITNE5SE.S. INVENTOR Nels Bernharaflndez'sozz.

nu NORRIS PETERb 60.. PHuTlJ-LITHQ. WASHINGTON, D, Cv

N. B. ANDERSON. FESH CLEANING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2, 1914.

Patented Apr. 27, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 2.

.l/ 17" EY,

I N V E. N T O R Nels Bernhardflnaerson. /$1411 if, ATTOR \INIT'NESSYEZS. m1! WW IHE NORJVS PETERS CO.,FHO1'O-L|THO.. WASHINGTON D.

N. B. ANDERSON.

FISH CLEANING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2. 1914.

1,137,448, Patented .27,1915.

SHEET3.

WW'NEsSES INVENTOR W/[W N81 5 Beg/ward Auden;

NELS BERNHARD ANDERSON, OF BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON, ASSIGNOR OF FOUR- FIFTHS TO EVERETT B. DEMING, OF BELLINGHAM, WASHINGTON.

FISH-CLEANING MACHINE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 27, 1915.

Application filed November 2, 1914. Serial No. 869,998.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, NELS BERNHARD AN- DERSON, a. subject of the King of Norway, (who has taken out his first citizenship papers in the United States,) and resident of the city of Bellingham, Whatcom county, Washington, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in F ish-Cleaning Machines, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to fish cleaning machines, and consists in an attachment for a certain type of such machines which will contribute to the better and more perfect working of other parts of the machine and therefore a more thorough cleaning of the fish.

The object of my invention is to thoroughly and effectually remove the bones lying at the base of and which serve as the support and attachment for the anal fin, and also the more effectual removal of the intestine which is directly connected with the rectal opening.

The object in the removal of these parts and the final object aimed at by my invention, is to place the fish in condition such as will cause, or permit, the other and following mechanisms to act more perfectly thereon, thus increasing the efliciency of the following mechanisms and the thoroughness of their work.

My invention comprises the parts and combinations of parts which will be hereinafter described and particularly indicated by the claims.

In the accompanying drawings I have shown my invention, and in the following specification will describe it, in the form of construction which is now preferred by me.

Figure 1 is a side elevation of a machine of a type with which my attachment and improvement is intended to work, my device being shown applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a detail view of my attachment, the point of view being the same as that of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a plan view of the attachment with only suflicient of the main machine shown to indicate its relationship thereto. Fig. 1 is an elevation of the same parts, but from a direction at right angles to that of Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is an edge view of the pair of cutter blades, pair of arms being cut away. Fig. 6 is an end view of the cutting ends of one pair of cutting blades, illustrating the method of their engagement with the bones referred to. Fig. 7 is a view of the cutter blades and the associated shoes, the latter being of a modified construction, the line of view being parallel the rotative axis of the blades. Fig. 8 is an elevation in partial section of the same construction of shoes and their supports, the line of view being at right angles to that of Fig. 7. Fig. 9 is a plan view of the same type of shoe and its supports. Fig. 10 is a cross sectional view of a fish taken through the abdominal cavity. Fig. 11 is a section through the fish and the bones at the base of the anal fin which it is desired to remove.

My invention is designed as an attachment to and improvement upon fish cleaning machines which receive the fish and convey it through a definite path, during which progress it is acted upon by a variety of devices, each performing its particular step in a process of cleaning and preparing the fish for use. One type of construction of such a machine has been shown in Fig. 1, and my device, as herein shown, has been proportioned to fit this machine. It is however, clear that the same mechanisms might be attached to and fitted for other machines, this adaptation for other constructions of machines being merely the function of a mechanic and not affecting the central principles of my invention. The type of machine shown is that which, in the trade, is known as the Iron Chink, the same being made under patents issued to Smith, Nos. 796,538, 998,129, and 1,034,525. The central struc tural features of this machine consist in the use of two spaced, revolving rings, A, which are provided with means for holding the fish between their peripheral edges and carrying the fish through a definite circular path, during which movement the fish is acted upon by a series of attachments which each perform their special part in the operation of cleaning the fish. My invention consists of an attachment for such a machine, designed to accomplish a result which the present devices do not accomplish, this result contributing very materially to the perfection of the action of the attachments which come after it in the cleaning process. The operations first performed by such a machine consist in the removal of the head, tail and fins, after which the fish is slit lengthwise so as to open the abdominal cavity and is then operated upon my mechanisms designed to remove'the intestines and the'blood which forms a clot along'and just under the backbone. It has been found by experience, that these latter mechanisms. will not act with certainty and exactness suffi-' cient to insure the satisfactory cleaning of the fish, which makes it necessary to employ a number of operatives to act upon the after they leavethe machine.

One of the most fruitful'causesof this imperfect action of the later mechanisms is as follows: The slitting open of the-abdominal cavity is done by a circular cutter-or saw,

' is the line upon which theslit in the'abdomimd cavity should be made. As these bones are much more resistant to cutting than the flesh at'theirsid'es, they very commonly divert the fishsabdomen 'to.one side, sometimes sufficient-to locatethe slit half an inch or more from. the exact-central plane. As the abdomen ofa' fish is soft andvery yielding, it takes but little to divert it from the proper-place and, once diverted, the tendency is to increase the diversion. The result :of this improper location of -the cut through the fish bellyy'is that the'cleaning mechanisms which act later upon the fish, cannot perfectly remove all the offal and this must be done by hand. To cure these defects I have provided an attachment which acts upon the fish before-"the slitting saw and which removes these bones which lie at the lbase of theanal fin, thereby removing the chief cause of the trouble and making it possible for the later acting mechanisms to do their workzmore perfectly. In the removal of these bones the abdominal cavity is slightly extended rearwardly, I thereby making it'moreeasy for the cleaning mechanisms to enterand remove the viscera. This would otherwise be more difficult of accomplishment, because of; the fact that the outline-of the upper margin of this cavity turns downward to the anus, thus making'a bend into which it is difiicult for the cleaning mechanism to make a perfect entry.

In Figs. 2, 3 .and 4, I-have shown my attachment by different views, these showing only enough of the parts of the'old machine to indicate'the relationship of the attachment thereto. The position occupied by the attachment upon the machine is shown 3 at C in Fig. 1. This follows after the knives which remove the tail and fins and precedes the abdominal slitter." My attachment is mounted upon a pivot axis or frame memher, 1, which lslocated at one side of and.

' substantially parallel the pathof movement of thefish. As herein shown'this shaft 1 is directly secured to the machine frame by clamps lO which bind it to posts 11. The shaft 1 1night, however, be limited in function to that of serving solely as a pivot, a special frame, beingemployed to support it from the frame of the machine. A frame 2 and extends transversely of said axis toward the path-of travel of the fish. 1 This path is determined by the movement of the drums or..-ri ngs A, between theedges of which the fish is held. J ournaled in frame 2 is a shaft 3, having a bevel gear30- secured to it at the pivoted end of the frame,- this gear meshing with a companion gear -12 journaledupon the'pivot axis'l. Secured to the bevel gear 12, is a spur gear 13, which l is pivoted by arms 20 upon the pivot axis 1,

meshes with another spur gear 14, which is secured to an auxiliary ordriving shaft 4. v

shown consists in a sprocket wheel 44, over which is placed achain 45, which .is driven from a'wheel-mounted upon. an overhead shaft-of the machine.- The swingingend of the shaft 3, has secured'thereto 'a'revolvi'ng cutter, so as to lie the plane of movement of the fish. This cutter is composed of a series of blades or knives 5,-which are arranged in pairs, those of each pair being placed opposite each other. The outer'ends' of these knives are bent inward, or toward each other, forming curved ends-50, having their end edges sharpened and also inclined, so as to form a V'-shaped opening between them; The forward side edges of these knives are also sharpened for a distance from their ends. The rear end, or apex, of the V-shaped opening between the endcutting edges, are separated but slightly, as is seen in Fig. 6. Between-these is shown, at 54,"a circle representing the size of one of the bones at the base of the anal fin, which bones it is desired to remove. The separation of the knives at'this point should be lessthan the thickness of these bones, so

like pieces 60, which are secured to the side faces of the outer end 21 of the frame and have legs extending down at each side the cutter to support the shoes 6. These yokes may be provided with slots for the securing bolts 61, whereby the shoes may be vertically adjusted.

In Figs. 7, 8 and 9, a different supporting mechanism for the shoes is shown. This consists of a U-shaped frame, composed of two bars 7, to which the shoes are secured, a connecting bar and a flange 71 which is provided with a vertical slot 75, for the reception of a securing bolt 74, and a transverse slot 72, for the reception of the other securing bolt 76. This member is secured against the outer end face of the cutter.

carrying frame 2. It may be swung upon the lower bolt 74 to adjust the angle of the under surface of the shoes, and moved bodily up or down to vary its height. I have also shown means whereby the cutter carrying frame may be raised at the times desired by a positive mechanism. In this I secure a cam ring 8, against the outer face of one of the drums or ring frames A, and mount an arm 80 by a pivot 81, supported in ears 22, forming a part of the frame 2. On the lower end of arm 80, is journaled a roller 82, which runs upon the cam ring 8. This roller may be provided with a side fiange, 83, which will prevent movement of the roller inward. The roller is held gently inward by a spring, as 23, which is coiled about an extension of the pivot 81 and has one end engaging the ear 22 and the other end engaging a pin 84, carried by arm 80. In operation, the cutter blades will engage the fish at, or just to the rear, of the anal fin, and will cut a groove extending past the anus and making a slight opening into the abdominal cavity. The shoes act to prevent cutting this groove too deep. It will, however, be deep enough to remove the group of bones which extend inward and from which the anal fin is supported, thus removing the main cause for diverting the slitting saw from the central line. The cam ring 8 acting upon the arm 80 will positively raise the swinging frame after passing this point and prevent the knife cutting farther along the fish. With these bones removed there is nothing to divert the slitting saw and it will follow the center of the abdomen. The rib bones of a fish extend nearly to the center line; therefore, if the slitting saw is diverted but slightly, it will strike these ribs, and as the ribs are resistant to cutting, they willnot be cut by the saw, but instead, will bepulled loose from the inner surface of the flanks of the fish, to which they are lightly attached, with the result that this side of the fish presents a frazzled and mussyv appearance which detracts very much from its appearance and value. With the bones removed which lie at the base of the anal fin, there is nothing to divert the slitting saw and it is practically certain of following an exact median course.

In Fig. 10 is shown a cross section of a fish which indicates the position of the rib bones. These do .not quite meet at their tips. The broken line Y shows where the out should be made, exactly central of the fish body, while the line Z shows where the cut is often made by the present apparatus, well to one side of the center. Such a cut tears the ribs loose from the sides and, in addition, produces an overhanging section, 91, of one side which prevents proper entrance of the cleaning apparatus.

The bones at the base of the anal fin are shown at 90 in Fig. 11. This figure shows the fins themselves as having been clipped off, or the condition existing when my cutter acts upon it.

lVhat I claim as my invention and desire to cover by Letters Patent is:

1. A cutter for cleaning fish, comprising two sets of cutting blades having their outer cutting ends bent inward or toward each other and together forming the outline of a rounded-edge disk.

2. A cutter for use in cleaning fish, comprising two sets of cutting blades mounted to turn about an axis, said sets being separated axially and having their outer ends curved inward, the blades of the two sets being arranged opposite each other.

3. A cutter for use in cleaning fish, comprising two sets of blades mounted at a slight distance from each other to turn upon a common axis, the outer ends of said blades being bent toward each other and located in opposed relation, the end edges of said blades being inclined to make a V-shaped aperture having its apex rearwardly.

4. A revolvingcutter for use in cleaning fish, having cutting edges lying in approximately a tangential plane and inclined to form a V-shaped opening with the large end of the opening forward.

5. A revolving cutter for use in cleaning fish, having cutting edges arranged in pairs,

the cutting edges of each pair being located" opposite and each consisting of a substantially radial section and an outward exten sion thereof which curves inward toward the companion blade and then extends across the end edge of the blade, said end edges of the blades being inclined toward each other to form a V-shaped recess having the apex of the recess rearwardly.

6. An attachment for cleaning fish comprising a frame pivoted upon an axis at one side of and parallel the path of movement of the fish, a shaft journaled-in said frame and extending over and transversely of the path of movement of the fish, and a cutter carried by the swinging end of said" shaft and havin'glcutting edges outlininga narlrowiarch. i

7. An attachment for cleaning Fmachines comprising a frame pivoted upon an axis located. at one side of the 1 machine and substantially parallel the path ofv travel of the fish,Ea-reVOlVingcutter' carried by the swingingendof said shaft in osition to engage the fish and having separated cutting .blades extendingsubstantially radially and then curving at their outer ends toward each i J other to substantially meet, and means controlled ibyith'e passage of the fish to raise the cutter. I

chines comprising a frame extending trans versely of the machine and outside the path I of travel of the fish, asupp'orting pivot axis therefor located? at oneside of the machine and extendingsubstantially parallel the path of travel of the fish, a revolving cutter car- ,riedby the swinging end 'ofsaid shaft in position to engage the fish, said cutter having cutting edges which extend radially and are separated axiallyand having extensions which curve inward or: toward each "other attheir outer ends, and a shoe carried by the outerend of said pivotediframe and lying beneath'and'at'each side of the cutters, in position to engage the fish to thereby raise thev cutters. v r

9. Anattachment for fish cleaning machines comprising'a'pivot shaft secured at one side ofrthei machine and substantially parallel the path of travel of the fish, a

frame pivotedupon said shaft, a shaft j ournaled in this frame and. extending trans versely ofiand with one end over the path of travelof the fish, a revolvingcutter carried by the swinging end of this shaft in positionto engage the fish, shoes carried by the tively acting means for raising the cutter at predetermined points. I

11. Anattachment for fish cleaning machines comprising aframe pivoted upon'an axis at one side of the machine and sub stantially parallel the\patl1 of travel of the fish, a cutter carried by the'swinging end of this frame in position to engage'the 'fish, a

shoe carried by the framehandqengaged by the fish to prevent excessive engagement 'of the cutter With-the fish, arevolving cam, and

8.-An attachment for fish cleaningmato engage the fish, means for driving said 4 at predetermined times.

a cam follower carried 'by; the swinging" frames/and engaging said cam .toraise the cutter, out of 1. engagement with the fish at predetermined points.

312.:An attachment for fish'cleaning ma chines comprising oajcutter having axially separated blades having their outer ends curved ,inward to a substantial contact, means for supporting and revolving" said cutter in position'to engage the vfish inits passage, a shoe connected with said cutter rand-adapted to be engaged by. the fish to prevent excessive engagement therewith,

' and meansofor adjusting the position of the shoes. V I

13. An attachment for fish cleaning "ma- Y chines-comprising a revolving cutterl having axially separated blades with their outer ends curvedztogether and forming a vV- shaped recess between their-end edges,with

the opening of the V forward, means for supf porting thiscutter'to turn in the plane of the path of'the fish and to be moved inward and outward relative to the path of travel of the fish,ashoe having supporting connection with the cutter and located beneatliand at each. side of the cutter 'inposition to engage the fish, .and means independent of this shoe to raisethe cutter out of engagement at predetermined times.

.14. Anattachment fornfish cleaning. maohin'es comprising-a pivot axis supported at one side of the machine and substantially parallel the path of travel of the fish, a frame pivoted thereon and extending transversely from said axis, a shaft journaled in path of travel of the fish, a cutter carried by this shaft in positionto engage the fish, a pairiofbevel gears, one carried by thisshaft and the other j ournaled on the pivot axis, an auxiliary frame pivoted upon the same pivot axis, an auxiliary shaft journaled in said auxiliary framealongside the pivot axis, a

pair oflfgears,ionei'secured to the auxiliary said swinging frame and extending over the Y shaft and the'other to the bevel gear which is carried on the pivot axis, meansfor se curing theauxihary frame in ad usted position, and .means for driving the auxiliary shaft. I

15.."An attachment for fish. cleaning ma- 7 chines comprising a pivot axis supported at one side of and'substantially parallel'the path of travel of the fish, a frame pivoted upon I this axis and extending toward the path of travel of the fish, a shaft journaled inthis frame and extending. from the pivot V Y axis toiand over the'path of travel of the fish, a cutter carried byfthis shaft in'position shaft, a cam member rotated in unison with the fish carrying mechanism, and anarm plvot'ed upon the cutter carrying frame and enraise the cutter I g gaging said cam member to 16. The combination With a fish cleaning machine having means for engaging and carrying a fish through a predetermined path, and means for slitting the fish, of a rotative cutter placed to act upon the fish in advance of said slitting means and adapted to cut a groove in the body of the fish which groove includes the base of the anal fin.

17. The combination With a fish cleaning machine having means for holding and passing the fish through a predetermined path, and means for slitting the fish, of a revolving cutter placed to act upon the fish in advance of the slitting mechanism and having cutters which are separated transversely of the fish 15 and With their outer ends converging, and means for controlling the position of said cutter relative to the fish by the passage of the fish.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto 20 ailixed my signature this 23d day of October,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents, Washington, D. 0" 

